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VICTORY DECLARED IN EMG LOCAL COVERAGE DETERMINATION CHANGE

NYPTA is proud to announce another victory as we come to year’s end. I am pleased to inform you that NGS Medicare advised us today that they have agreed on changes that we requested for a draft Local Coverage Determination (LCD) on Nerve Conduction Studies and Electromyopgrapy (NCS/EMG). This was accomplished through the tireless efforts of NYPTA members Cathy Anastasio and Dimitrios Kostopolous, as well as APTA staff members Gayle Lee and Gillian Leene, and working collaboratively with the Connecticut Chapter.

As background, NGS Medicare proposed adopting a change to the LCD covering NCS/EMG would have excluded licensed physical therapists from performing EMGs for which they are qualified. This would have resulted in paying physical therapists for only the technical component for the NCS/EMG codes and not the professional component.

We received the following e-mail from the Senior Medical Policy Analyst at NGS Medicare today:

“We met with CMS this morning and have agreed on the changes you and your colleagues requested for the draft LCD on NCS/EMG. We will revise the language in the draft LCD to remove the restriction on PTs performing the professional component of EMG tests. In addition the information on CPT code 95937 will be corrected. The final LCD will be published for notice in mid-January and will be effective March 1, 2014. We appreciate your participation in the policy process.”

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone that assisted in making this victory possible, but especially Cathy and Dimitrios. This would not have been possible without their valuable input and unwavering effort. Thank you!

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The New York Physical Therapy Association (NYPTA) is a non-profit professional organization composed of approximately 5,000 licensed physical therapists (PTs), physical therapist assistants (PTAs) and PT/PTA students. The NYPTA is dedicated to serving the public's health interests, improving the standard of health for people of all ages, and advancing the interests of physical therapists in the State of New York.